NEWPORT BEACH : Ballot Wording Can’t Change, Critics Told

Several residents criticized the City Council this week for what they called “misleading” wording of a ballot measure that would permit longer leases of city-owned property by private organizations.

The residents, who spoke during the public comment portion of Monday’s City Council meeting, said that because the local Measure M says the change would “limit” the length of the leases to state-imposed terms, voters might back the measure in hopes of shorter leases. In fact, passage of Measure M would allow the city to expand leases from the current maximum of 25 years up to the state’s limit of 66 years.

However, residents were told that it was too late to change the wording since ballots for Tuesday’s elections have already been printed.

“To most of us, it sounds like this measure lowers the length of the lease, but actually the opposite is true,” complained Susa LeGrandeur, president of the Cliffhaven Community Assn., adding that her “phone has been ringing off the hook for weeks now” as confused voters raise questions about the impact of Measure M.

Among the bayfront-tidelands properties that would be affected is the Balboa Bay Club, whose owners have asked for a 50-year lease and an expansion of the club to include 300 hotel rooms. Some residents have complained that a private club should not be allowed to operate on city-owned land for so long and suggest that a public park be established on the property when the Bay Club’s current lease expires in 2011.

Measure M, which was placed on the ballot by the City Council, is one of four municipal issues voters will consider in Tuesday’s election. The others are Measure N, which would permit the city to sell “People’s Park,” a vacant lot on River Avenue; Measure O, which would increase the number of people on the Arts Commission; and Measure P, which limits council members to two consecutive terms.